Sharjah 24 – WAM: The General Administration of Customs in Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi Customs) celebrated the World Intellectual Property Day 2021, which falls on 26th April, with the participation of several strategic partners, trademark owners, and officials, as part of its plans to unite efforts to combat smuggling.
Contributing to the protection of intellectual property rights owners inside and outside the country, Abu Dhabi Customs inspectors and controllers completed 48 seizure operations, during the period between 2017 and the end of Q1 of 2021, resulting in the seizure of over 20,000 counterfeit items.
Fahad Ghareeb Al Shamsi, Executive Director of Support Services Sector at Abu Dhabi Customs, said that protecting intellectual property rights in international cross-border trade is one of the most important strategic objectives of Abu Dhabi Customs, which embodies its efforts to protect society and ensure legitimate trade to drive Abu Dhabi's sustainable economic growth.
Abu Dhabi Customs has in place a strict policy to combat smuggling, and collaborates with all local and international customs authorities to exchange expertise and information that can help track and seize counterfeit goods, he added.
Al Shamsi noted that the number of seizure operations completed by Abu Dhabi Customs during the year 2017 amounted to 13, including more than 2,787 counterfeit items, compared to nearly 15 operations and 2,455 items in 2018; 14 operations and 14,265 items in 2019; 3 operations and 380 items in 2020; and 3 operations and 362 items in Q1 of 2021.
Hamida Al-Jabri, Head of International Agreements and Intellectual Property Section at Abu Dhabi Customs, said that the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs launched an educational competition on its official accounts on social media, marking World Intellectual Property Day 2021, as part of its comprehensive awareness campaign.
World Intellectual Property Day 2021 is held under the slogan "IP & SMEs: Taking your ideas to market" to highlight the role that intellectual property rights in encouraging innovation.
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